Skid prevention for automobiles



Dec. 17, 1929. DODGE SKID PREVENTION FOR AUTOMOBILES vzm'on ATTORNEY Original Filed Sept. 21, 1927 Patented Dec. 17, 1929 uni FREDERICK nonen, or ASTORIA, NEW YORK SKID PREVENTION FOR AUTOMOBILES 7 Application filed September 21, 1927, Serial No. 220,930. Renewed Gctober 31, 1929.

This invention relates to skid prevention for automobiles. One of the objects thereof is to provide means for dependably guarding against the dangers of automobiles skidding upon slippery pavements. Another object is to provide a thoroughly practical device for checking the skidding of an automobile when the brakes are applied. Another object is to provide means of the above nature which will prevent the automobile from being thrown toward the side of the road and into the gutter by skidding when. the brakes are applied. Another object is to provide a skid prevention means of the above nature which is reliable in action. Another object is to provide a device of the above nature which is simple and inexpensive and readily adaptable to any kind of an automobile. Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of'parts as will be exemplified in the structure ,to be hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of this invention, I Y

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an automobile showing the device in position thereon;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through a valve mechanism employed as a part of the apparatus;

Figure 3 is a section taken as indicated by the line 3-3 in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the valve mechanism, and

Figure 5 is a sectional view, on a smaller scale to illustrate a slightly modified construction.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawing. 7

Referring now to the drawing in detail, there is shown in Figure 1 a container in the shape of a suitable box 10 mounted upon the running board 11 of the automobile. The

container 10 is adapted to hold a supply of sand to be discharged in the roadway in advance of the wheel 12 of the automobile, as will be described more fully hereinafter. The container is provided with a sloping bottom wall 13 so that the sand will readily flow and, at the lower end of'this wall there projects downwardly from the container a suitable conduit or pipe 14. The pipe may conveniently be fastened to the container 10 by means of a collar 15 and suitable bolts 16, and it preferably passes straight down through an opening in the running board 11, as shown in Figure 2.

In the pipe 14, preferably below the running board 11, is provided a valve'mechanism,

indicated generally by the reference number 17 in Figure 1, which controls the flow of sand from the container 10 downwardly through the pipe to the roadway. Connected to this valve mechanism is a wire or rod 18 swinging the lever portion 19 rearwardly about its pivot 21, the valve 17 is opened, as will be described more'fully, to discharge the sand onto the roadway in advance of the wheel 12.

As is seen in Figure 1, the end of the pipe 14 is positioned at a substantial distance above the roadway, preferably at least seven inches, so that, as the sand strikes the roadway, it is spread out over a substantial area. I The valve construction is shown in detail in Figures 2, 3' and 4. A supporting member 22 has therein, adjacent one end, an open ing 23 through which the pipe 14'passes. This member 22 is secured to the pipe 14 by any suitable means such as set screws 24. About the opening 23 the member 22' has formed therein a slot 25, and in the pipe 14 there is out a slot 26 which registers with a portion of the slot 25. In the slot 25 of the member 22 there is slidably supported a platelike member 27 which has a tongue 27* proj ecting through the slot 26 in the pipe. The outer edge 27 (Figure 4) of the tongue 2'7 is shaped to mate with the inner wall of the pipe 14. The slot 26 in the pipe 14 extends only part way around the pipe, as seen in Figure 2, and the edge 27 comes against the portion of the inner wall of the pipe diametrically opposite the slot 26 to close the passage through the pipe 14 and cut off the flow of sand therethrough.

The supporting member 22 has a part 22 extending outwardly, from the pipe and toward the rear wheel 12. The plate member 27 has a pair of arms 28 and 29 projecting rearwardly from the slot 25. and extending along the sides of the part 22 The rear ends of these arms 28 and 29 are connected by a connecting part 30 which is secured to the arms 28 and 29 by suitable bolts 31 and 35. The member 30 extends through a transverse slot 33 which is formed in the part 22 and extends lengthwise thereof. In the part 22 there is formed also a longitudinal passage 34 the forward end of which terminates in a wall 35 (Figure 2) and the rear end of which is closed, for example, by a plug 36 held in place by a screw 37. The passage or recess '34 is substantially circular in crosssection, as shown herein, and positioned therein is a heavy coiled spring 38. The spring 38 acts between the wall 35 and the member 30 and thus urges the sliding valve plate 27 rearwardly, holding the part 27 within the pipe 1 1 and tightly up against the wall portion 14 thereof (Figure 2) to close the passage through the pipe. and shut off the flow of the sand.

To the front end of the plate member 27 is connected the wire or rod 18 through a turn buckle 39 by means of which the effective length of the rod or wire 18 may be adjusted conveniently. The spring 38 holds the valve member in closed position and, in addition,

acting through the connecting member 18, it'

holds the hand lever 19 in retracted position.

Considering now the action of this device, let it be assumed that the roadway is wet or icy and slippery, the driverapplies the foot brake, the wheels lock and start to skid. The driver grasps the lever 19 which is positioned within convenient reach of his left hand, preferably, and, drawing the lever toward him, he opens the valve 17 and discharges a stream of sand in the roadway just in advance of the wheel 12. The sand spreads out before the wheel and forms a friction surface on the roadway which, engaged by the wheel 12, soon brings the automobile to a stop. When the driver releases the hand lever 19, the springs38 returns it to its normal position and closes the valve, shutting off the flow of sand. The hand operation of the device is of importance because, when the device is used, the feet of the driver are engaged with the brake and clutch pedals.

.As will be seen in Figure 1, the device is positioned upon the left-hand side of the automobile and the sand is discharged in front of the rear wheel on the left-hand side. The roadway is ordinarily crowned at the middle and, in driving on the right-hand side of the road, the road thus ordinarily slopes downwardly away from the automobile toward the gutter. By applying the skid pre vention means described herein to the lefthand rear wheel as shown, the holding action tends to hold the automobile in the road and prevents its being thrown off toward the gutter by the skidding.

The, sand container 10 is preferably mounted upon the running board, as shown, but, as will be understood, it may be mounted at any suitable. point on the automobile. lVhen mounted upon the running board it is made of such a height that it will not interfere with the swinging of the doors and, also, it is preferably positioned near the rear end of the running board but far enough away from the rear fender to permit use of the rear end portion of the running board as a step.

In the construction shown in Figure 2 the pipe or conduit 14' is in one integral piece, extending from the container 10 downwardly. In Figure 5 there is shown a modified construction in which the lower portion 14 of the pipe is separate from the upper portion thereof. As shown in this figure, the upper portion of the pipe extends downwardly into the upper portion of the valve supporting member 22 and is fastened thereto as by means of set screws, one of which is shown at 40. The lower portion 14 of the pipe is a separate part removably secured in the member 22 by means of set screws, one of which is shown at 41. This modified construction is advantageous in that, by loosening the set screws 41, the discharge end of the pipe may be adjusted as to its direction of discharge so that it will deliver the sand at the most advantageous point with respect to the wheel. By means of this adjustment the curved lower end of the pipe may be adjusted to adjust the discharge of the sand in a direction trans versely of the roadway. Also, in case the pipe portion 14E should be struck by an obstacle in the roadway and thereby bent or distorted, it may conveniently be removed for repair or replacement by another pipe portion.

The use. of this device greatly decreases the danger of accidents due to skidding on wet and slippery pavements. The driver of the automobile is enabled to immediately provide a frictional holding surface in the roadway at the eXact point where it will do the most good. The construction is thoroughly practical throughout. The valve port-ion 27 quickly cuts through the stream of sand and positive- 1y stops the flow as soon as the'hand lever is released. The spring 38 holds the edge of the valve member closely against the inner wall of the pipe and prevents any possibility of the sand trickling through and escaping when it is not required.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a skid prevention device for automobiles, in combination, a pipe for conveying sand, a supporting device having an opening through which said pipe passes, a valve member in said supporting device for controlling the fiow of sand through said pipe, said valve member comprising a sliding plate having a part entering a slot in said pipe to cut off the flow of sand therethrough, and spring means acting between said valve member and said supporting device tending to hold said valve closed.

2. In a skid prevention device for automobiles, in combination, a pipe for conveying sand, a member having an opening through which said pipe passes, said pipeand said member having registering slots extending in a direction transversely of the pipe, and a sliding plate member carried in said slot of said member and having a part projecting through said slot in said pipe to the pipe interior to control the flow of sand therethrough.

3. In a skid prevention device for automobiles, in combination, a pipe for conveying sand, a member having an opening through which said pipe passes and having a part extending outwardly from the pipe, a sliding plate-like member carried by said first member having adjacent one end a part which projects through a transverse slot in the pipe wall and into the interior of the pipe to control the flow of sand therethrough, said plate-like member having also a pair of arms extending along the sides of said projecting part of said first member and a part connecting the ends of said arms, said last part extending through a slot in said first member, and a spring interposed between said last part and said first member tending to hold said sliding plate member in position to cut off the flow of sand through said pipe.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this 20th day of September, 1927.

FREDERICK DODGE. 

